China-based Web Shop Temu Overtakes Amazon in Denmark

Temu, the China-based online marketplace, is not only more popular than Amazon among Danish customers, but is also now better-known in Denmark than the US online retail giant, a latest survey revealed.

The analysis from the Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk Industri, DI) has found that Temu is better known by members of the Danish public than major online retailers including Amazon and eBay.

Temu is now the third best-known online shopping platform in Denmark after German company Zalando and Sweden’s Boozt, according to DI. Some 22% of Danes have made a purchase on Temu within the last year, DI also found.

Neither Amazon or eBay have operations in Denmark, but Danish shoppers can purchase items from the two companies by having them imported, for example from Amazon’s German website amazon.de.

But the Chinese platform has quickly overtaken the two US brands in terms of both popularity and recognition in Denmark.

Household Name

Dansk Industri’s branch director for retail Jacob Kjeldsen said that Temu has breezed into Danes’ consciousness. The company’s online marketing – as well criticism of its business model – are both factors in it emerging as a household name in the Nordic country, he said.

With 71% of Danes, who took part in the survey, said that they were aware of Temu, it is now more established than either Amazon, eBay or WIsh. Another Chinese platform, Shein, also appeared in the top ten with 46% recognition among Danes.

“It makes sense to assume that this is only because of the high media coverage but we have seen in past analyses that both – Temu and Shein – have been among the ten most popular web shops, so there’s no doubt that their massive marketing and low prices have reached Danes,” Kjeldsen said.

However, these two Chinese platforms are facing EU scrutiny for potential infringements of European rules related to business practices, marketing and product standards, DI noted.

Violation of Rules

According to Kjeldsen said that there were several signs that Temu and Shien were not complying with the rules, which creates unfair competition for Danish businesses.

In this context, he cited a test by the consumer rights group Forbrugerrådet Tænk which found 30 out of 38 products failed to meet standards.

“We are pleased to see the European Commission has asked Temu for an explanation, and they must comply with the rules by October or face a punishment. We must have safe products for consumers and fair competition standards for Danish businesses,” he added.

The EU’s Digital Services Act requires can demand companies that do not comply with standards on areas such as consumer safety to hand over 6% of their annual revenues in the form of a fine.